Door closer

ABSTRACT

A closing device for doors and analogous structural elements has an elongated housing in which a slide is longitudinally movable in a predetermined path between a rest position and a working position. A biasing arrangement permanently urges the slide to its rest position and connecting means connects the slide with a structural element capable of moving between a closed and an open position so that the slide moves toward working position as the structural element moves away from its closed position. An elastomeric braking element is positioned in the path of the slide and serves to abuttingly engage the slide and brake the movement of the same in response to the slide approaching its working position.

United States Patent Jentsch et al.

[451- Oct. 31, 1972 DOOR CLOSER 721 Inventors: Dietrich Jentsch; Herbert Cleft, both of Ennepetal-Voerde, Germany [73] Assignee: Dorken & Mankel KG, Ennepetal- Voerde, Germany 221 Filed: July 2,1970 21 Appl.No.:51,768

[30] Foreign ApplicationPriority Data Civitelli ..16/86 A X Primary Examiner-Bobby R. Gay Assistant Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner Attorney-Michael S. Striker [5 7] ABSTRACT A closing device for doors and analogous structural elements has an elongated housing in which a slide is July 10,1969 Germany ..P 19 34 912.3 longitudinally movable in 'a predetermined path between a rest position and a working position. A [52] US. Cl ..16/55, 16/52 biasing ananggmgnt permanently urgcs-thc slidc {0 its [51] Int. Cl. ..E05t 3/20 rest itio and connecting means connects the slide 1 Field of Search "16/82, 851 with a structural element capable of moving between a 4 185; 267/140 closed and an open position so that the slide moves toward working position as the structural element [56] References cued moves away from its closed position. An elastomeric UNITED STATES PATENTS braking element is positioned in the path of the slide a and serves to abutt ngly engage the slide and brake the 2,909,801 lO/ 1959 Ellis et al. ..16/62 movcment of the Same in response to the slide 2,715,746 8/1955 Travis ...l6/85 punching its working position 3,545,030 12/1970 Perry ..16/55 3,449,788 6/1969 Wake ..16/54 6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures a 1 C u; v V on. '1 J? M o J/ I My l ,1 I I, X-

y L 1 a W I 33 /6 O? e e s 30 DOOR CLOSER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a closing device, and more particularly to a closing device for doors and analogous structural elements.

Hereafter the present invention will be discussed with reference to a closing device for doors, an application with which it is primarily concerned. However, it is to be understood that this is not intended to constitute a limitation because the closing device can also be used for operating with other structural elements, such as windows and the like, although its must common use will probably be with doors. However, for the sake of convenience and explanation, it will, as pointed out before, be discussed with respect to doors.

Closing devices for doors and such structural elements are already known. In fact, it is known to provide 'one such closing device with an elongated housing means in which slide means is longitudinally slidable in a predetermined path between a rest position and a working position, with biasing means permanently urging the slide means to rest position. Connecting means connects the slide means with the door or other'structural element so that the slide means moves from its rest position towards its working position as the door moves from closed to open position. In closing devices of this type, including the last-mentioned type, it is frequently desirable to provide for resilient braking of the door movement as the door reaches its widest opening position. This is intended to prevent hard abutment of the door against another element, for instance a wall, or to prevent excessive stress being placed upon the closing device itself.

Naturally, it is already known to provide arrangements for accomplishing this purpose. Thus, it is known to provide abutments which operate independently of the closing device itself, for instance abutments which are provided on the floor, on the door frame or the like. The door then abuts against such abutments when it reaches its maximum open position and is thereby braked. However, is clear that often such abutments are a hazards because if they are on the floor someone may trip over them, or if they are mounted on the frame garments or the like may be caught on them. At the very least abutments of this type are aesthetically displeasing. It is already known, therefore, to provide another type of abutment wherein springs and more particularly leaf springs are utilized which are so positioned that they will be engaged by the slide-this refers to the type of door closer which has been identified above in more detail-and which are located within the housing of the door closer itself. They have, however, the disadvantage that the necessarily limited space availability in the door closer housing precludes the possibility of using springs beyond a certain maximum size. Therefore, these springs are capable of providing only a limited braking action and they have the further disadvantage that they in effect serve only as storage devices for the energy which is transmitted to them as the slide abuts against them under the influence of the opening door. In other words, once they have reached the maximum braking action of which they are capable, then they exert a spring biasing action upon the slide and therefore upon the door in a sense tending to close the door again, and this action is not insignificant and frequently undesirable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ing of the slide-and therefore of the door which causes movement of the slide-and which absorbs the kinetic energy transmitted to it, rather than merely storing it and subsequently releasing it again.

An additional object of the invention is to provide such a closing device which is to be simple in its construction and operation.

In pursuance of the above objects, and others which will become apparent hereafter, one feature of the invention resides in a closing device for doors and analogous structural elements which, in one embodiment, comprises-briefly statedelongated housing means and slide means which is longitudinally slidable in the housing means between a rest position and a working position in a predetermined path. Biasing means permanently urges the slide means to rest position. Connecting means operatively connects the slide means with a structural element which is capable of performing movements between a closed and an open position, for effecting sliding movement of the slide means towards its working position in response to movement of the structural element from itsclosed p'osition. An elastomeric braking element is provided in accordance with the present invention; it is positioned in the path of the slide means and is operative for braking the movement of the latter in response to the slide means approaching its working position.

With this construction, wherein the braking means is in form of an elastomeric braking element, a substantial portion of the kinetic energy acting upon the elastomeric braking element as the slide means abuts against it under the influence of the opening door or analogous structural element, is converted into heat energy and therefore lost for any possible restoring force tending to close the door again. Furthermore, the elastomeric deformation under pressure of elastomeric braking elements or buffers takes place in accordance with progressively increasing characteristic lines, and the masses to be accelerated as the slide moves against the elastomeric braking element are minimal. This causes minimum stresses during the braking action and the door is braked quietly and without any noise to all intents and purposes.

It is generally preferred, but not to be considered limiting, to construct the elastomeric braking element in form of an elongated elastomeric stud the longitudinal axis of which extends in parallelism with the path of the slide means. This makes for a particularly simple construction and for maximum utilization of the deformation capability of the stud. It is advantageous if this construction is utilized, to provide one end wall of the elongated housing on which the stud is to be mounted with a cap or cup-shaped holding portion which is screw threadedly connected with thee'nd wall, and the pos- 3 open side of which faces lengthwise of the path towards the slide means. The one end portion of the stud is then received and held in the cap or cup-shaped holding portion. To permit ready adjustments of the arrangement it is advantageous to provide the end wall with a through-going aperture or bore which is internally tapped, to provide the cup-shaped holding portion with external screw threads and to have a part or section of the cup-shaped holding section located exteriorly of the end wall so that it can be gripped there and threaded farther into or out of the interior of the housing means. Since this can take place from the outside adjustment of the braking action is very simple, it being evident that threading of the cup-shaped holding portion deeper into the interior of the housing means moves the elastomeric stud closer to the slide means and thus results in earlier abutment between them as the slide means moves towards its working position. With this construction it is further possible-and is an advantage not to be overlookedto remove the cupshaped holding portion along with the elastomeric stud completely and to substitute an extemally screw threaded plug member to simply close the opening in the end wall if and when the braking means is not necessary or desired in the closing device.

It is possible to provide the free end portion of the stud-shaped elastomeric member with a pressure-distributing cover, for instance of metallic material or the like, but it is generally preferred to leave it uncovered, and to have the end face of the slide means which is to abut against it, be subdivided rather than an even, continuous surface. This provides for maximum pressure distribution because the areas of surface-to-surface contact alternate with intermediate areas where the material of the stud can yield readily, and this reduces the forces acting upon the stud and provides for an ad vantageous characteristic line in the absorption of the kinertic energy.

Different types of materials are suitable for making the elastomeric stud. They include various different synthetic plastics, and one type which has been found to be particularly advantageous is on an ethylene-glycol adipic acid polyester base. These materials not only have the requisite elastomeric characteristics, but are also highly resistant to various other substances, including the liquids which are usually employed in the interior of such closing devices as damping means for damping the movement of the device back towards its rest position. In addition they have a better elastomeric deformability than many other materials among the synthetic plastics. I

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims.

The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objections and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a longitudinal partial section through an embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line ll-ll'in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a partially sectioned end view of the device in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Discussing now the drawing in detail it will be seen that the housing of the illustrated exemplary closing device is subdivided into a first section 10 may be considered a drive-component section, and a second cylindrical section 12 connected with the section 10 by means of screws 11 and serving asa damping or buffer section. The section 12 abuts against the section 10 with a widened connection head 13 as illustrated (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

The interior of the section 10 is accessible by means of an opening which is normally closed with a cover 14. Located in this interior is a turnable shaft 15 which is tumably mounted in a first anti-friction bearing 16 mounted in the shaft 14 and a second anti-friction bearing 17 mounted at the opposite side of the section 10 in a side wall. A seal 18 is associated with the bearing 17 to prevent the escape of fluid from the interior. The shaft 15 is connectable in known manner with a door or an analogousstructural element which moves between an open and closed position, and vice versa. The-arrangement is such that movement of the door between a closedand an open position causes the shaft 15 to turn in one direction, and subsequent moving of the from open to closed position causes the shaft 15 to turn in the other opposite direction.

The shaft 15 carriers a cam 19 which is turnable and located between two plate-like members (see FIG. 2 in particular) which together constitute a slide 20. Also located between the members constituting the slide 20 are rollers 21 which are turnable and which cooperate with the cam 19. The slide 20 is slidably guided for movement lengthwise of the section 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) by virtue of the fact that the shaft 15 extends through two longitudinal slots 22 provided in theplate members of the slide means 20, and for supporting purposes a ring 23 may be provided in addition to roll on the inner circumferential surface bounding the slot 1 or (if two such rings are provided) bounding both of the slots 22.

A coupling rod 25 is releasably connected with the slide means 20 by screws 24 and extends in part into the cylindrical section 12 of the housing. Its free end is coupled with a damping piston 27 which serves also as an abutment for a restoring spring 26. The cylindrical housing section 12 with the piston 27, in conjunction with associated valves and flow passages, constitutes a damping arrangement. The particular construction is of no importance in the context of the present invention and is therefore not described in detail. It is pointed out, however, that the spring 26 serves restoring purposes and abuts at its end closer to the section 10 against an abutment 28 which surrounds the coupling rod 25 and which in turn is coupled via a pair of pull rods 29 which are mostly located outside the confines of the housing section 12 with a head or bridge 31 also located outside the housing section 12 and provided with a pressure-adjusting screw 30. By means of the latter the abutment 28 can be adjusted by means of the pull rod 29 and the pretensioning of the spring 26 can be varied in this manner.

Assuming that the device illustrated is now connected with a swinging door or analogous structural element, and assuming that the door is moved from closed to open position, with the slide means 20 in the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, then rotation of the shaft causes the slide means to be displaced by the cam 19 towards the left-hand side of the drawing, with the help of the rollers 21. In so moving the spring 26 is tensioned and pressure fluid which is accommodated in the interior of the device, streams into the working space of the damping arrangement. After the door is freed, the pretension spring 26 exerts'a force of the portio'n33 and of the stud 34 from the exterior of the device and substitution of ablind plug portion in its place. A further advantage of this construction is the fact that if desired the portion 33 can be removed from the exterior and the stud 34 can be replaced with a differently dimensioned stud providing earlier, later, greater or lesser braking action. Naturally there are other possibilities for variations which, while they have not been specifically disclosed, are intended to be encompassed within the protection sought. Thus it is possible to use different materials for the stud 34, just 7 as it is possible to protect the free end face of the stud acting in the opposite direction than before, and tends to restore the sliding means 20-and thereby the door which is connected with it via the shaft 15-'to the position in which the sliding means 20 will be located as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The speed of this return movement from leftto right-hand side in FIG. 1 is limited and controlled by the damping device whose, operation, however, is of no concern in the context of the present invention.

To prevent the door from hitting hard against the wall or the like when it is being opened, the invention provides for the illustrated and disclosed elastomeric braking element. In the illustrated embodiment this includes a cup-shaped holding portion 33 which is externally threaded and is threaded from the outer side of a housing end wall 32 to an internally tapped opening so that the open side of the cup-shaped holding portion 33 faces the interior of the section 10. One end portion of a stud 34--which may be of cylindrical or similar con- 4 figuration-and which consists of elastomeric material, is received in and held by the holding portion 33. The elastomeric material is preferably a synthetic plastic material based on ethylene-glycol adipic acid polyester. The other longitudinally spaced free end portion of the stud 34 projects freely into the path of the slide means 20 and the longitudinal axis of the stud 34 is approximately parallel with the path of movement of the slide means 20..

When the door moves to open position with the arrangement as discussed above, and the slide means 20 moves towards the left in FIGS. 1 and 2, then the slide means 20 abuts against the free end face of the stud 34 at such time as the door and therefore the slide means have reached their maximum end position. Such abutment causes the movement of the slide means 20 and therefore of the door to be elastically braked, with the kinetic energy absorbed by the stud 34 being largely converted into heat energy due to the internal friction taking place during elastic deformation of the material of the stud 34. Because the characteristic line of the energy transmission from slide means 20 to the stud 34 rises progressively, an effective but smooth braking of the door movement is achieved.

There are circumstances where the door or analogous structural element is so mounted that a braking action of the closing device is not necessary or desired. The arrangement which has been illustrated in FIGS. l-3, where the holding member 33 is accessible from the exterior of the end wall of the housing section 10, has the advantage not only that the braking action can be varied at will by affording access at the exterior to the holding portion 33, but also that where the braking action is not necessary or desired it permits removal 34 which abuts against the slide means 20 with a pressure-distributing cap or the like. The stud itself could be subdivided and/or it could consist of more than one elastomeric material, that is it could consist of sections of different elastomeric materials whose elastomeric characteristics are selected in accordance with specific requirements in order to obtain a specific characteristic line for the braking action. Also, it is clear that the braking means which has been disclosed herein can be used with closing devices whose basic construction is different from that which has been illustrated herein.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of construction differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a closing device for doors and analogous structural elements, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications'without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new anddesired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A closing device for doors, comprising elongated housing means having a transverse end wall provided with an opening; slide means in said housing means'longitudinally slidable therein in a predetermined path between a rest position and a working position adjacent said transserve end wall; biasing means permanently urging said slide means to said rest position; connecting means operatively connecting said slide means with a structural element capable of performing movements between a closed and an open position, for effecting sliding movement of said slide means toward said working position in response to movement of said structural element from said closed position; hydraulic damping means for damping the movement of said slide means from said working to said rest position; and an elastomeric braking element extending through said opening into said housing means and comprising an elongated stud of elastomeric material having an end portion connected to said end wall and an other end 7 portion projecting towards said slide means for engagement with said slide means for braking the movement of the latter only during the terminal approach of said slide means to said working position.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, said braking element further comprising a cup-shaped holding portion secured to said end wall and engaging and holding said end portion of said stud. i

3. A device as defined in claim 2; and further comprising cooperating screw threads on said end wall and said holding portion.

4. A device as defined in claim 3, said end wall having an inner side facing the interior of said housing I means, an outer side facing the exterior of said housing other of said sides; and wherein said opening and said holding portion are provided with said cooperating screw threads and said holding portion comprises a section extending to and engageable at said outer side.

5 A device as defined in claim 4; and further comprising an externally screw threaded member fluidtightly threadable into said opening in'lieu of said holding portion;

6. A devicetas defined in claim 1, wherein said elastomeric material is ethylene-glycol adipic-acidpolyester based. 

1. A closing device for doors, comprising elongated housing means having a transverse end wall provided with an opening; slide means in said housing means longitudinally slidable therein in a predetermined path between a rest position and a working position adjacent said transserve end wall; biasing means permanently urging said slide means to said rest position; connecting means operatively connecting said slide means with a structural element capable of performing movements between a closed and an open position, for effecting sliding movement of said slide means toward said working position in response to movement of said structural element from said closed position; hydraulic damping means for damping the movement of said slide means from said working to said rest position; and an elastomeric braking element extending through said opening into said housing means and comprising an elongated stud of elastomeric material having an end portion connected to said end wall and an other end portion projecting towards said slide means for engagement with said slide means for braking the movement of the latter only during the terminal approach of said slide means to said working position.
 2. A device as defined in claim 1, said braking element further comprising a cup-shaped holding portion secured to said end wall and engaging and holding said end portion of said stud.
 3. A device as defined in claim 2; and further comprising cooperating screw threads on said end wall and said holding portion.
 4. A device as defined in claim 3, said end wall having an inner side facing the interior of said housing means, an outer side facing the exterior of said housing means, and said opening extending from one to the other of said sides; and wherein said opening and said holding portion are provided with said cooperating screw threads and said holding portion comprises a section extending to and engageable at said outer side.
 5. A device as defined in claim 4; and further comprising an externally screw threaded member fluid-tightly threadable into said opening in lieu of said holding portion.
 6. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said elastomeric material is ethylene-glycol adipic-acid-polyester based. 